Washing-machine.



V L. HAMILTON.

WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.2I, 1914.

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LAWRENCE HAMILTON, OF LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND.

WASHING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 1, 1 915.

Application filed March 21, 1914. Serial No. 826,453.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LA'WRENCE HAMILTON, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Liverpool, in the county of Lancaster, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in lVashing-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to Washing machines of the type in which a pounder applied to any suitable-tub, effects the washing of the articles by an alternate suction and repulsion, so as to force the water back and forth through the pores of the articles, and thus free them from dirt without rubbing and with less danger of tearing the articles or detaching the buttons than at present exists.

The improved pounder of this invention is characterized in that it is made of sheet metal or other suitable material, of inverted trough or dish shape in cross-section, and provided with a plurality of perforations, valves being seated on the upper surface of said member so as to close some of the perforations when the pounder is lifted, thus creating a certain resistance to the reflex flow of the water, the valves, however, being free to lift to open all the perforations when the pounder is pushed down into the tub.

The invention will be understood from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a detail cross section of the pounder; Fig. 2, a plan view thereof; and Fig. 3, a sectional elevation of a wash tub fitted with my improved pounder.

The wash-tub may be of any suitable kind, and its height and dimensions are governed by the bulk of the clothes or other articles to be placed therein.

In the embodiment shown in the drawing, 1 is the tub open at the top, 2 the stand in which it is supported above the floor, and 3 a gas burner below, for maintaining the water in the tub at the required temperature.

4 is the pounder which is made of sheet metal or other suitable material stamped or made into the form of an inverted trough or dish, secured by means of nuts 5 to the center rod 6. This inverted trough shaped pounder 4 is made a little smaller in diameter than the inside diameter of the tub 1, and it is perforated with holes 7 almost all over its surface. The greater part of the upper face is fiat, to form seatings for a center lift valve member or diaphragm- 8, and, the lift valve members or diaphragms 9 which are located at equidistant radii from the center one. These valve members normally close some of the perforations in the pounder 4. The center valve member 8 is so mounted on the reduced part of the center rod 6, and the valve members 9 on upstanding pins 10 bolted to the pounder 4, that these valves freely lift with the upward passage of the water current, but clack back on their seats when a reflex or back pressure occurs.

11 and 12 are abutments to limit and determine the lift of the valves 8 and 9. In the normal position, therefore,these valves 8 and 9 rest on the pounder, and so close some of the perforations 7, but when the pounder 4 is forced down into the tub by the rod 6, the water passing through the holes 7 lifts the valves, so that but little resistance is offered by the water to the downward movement of the pounder. When, however, the pounder is lifted up, the valve members close some of the holes, and thus a resistance to the upward'movement of the pounder takes place which creates a suction, and draws the water through the pores of the clothes in the tub. The valve members 8 and 9 are preferably made of sheet metal stamped in the formed of inverted saucers, so as to seat themselves at their edge on the pounder 4, but of course the valves could be of rubber or the like.

In the drawing, motion is imparted to the pounder by the crank shaft 13 and handle 14, the crank being provided with a tubular connecting rod 15 within which the rod 6 is mounted telescopically, so that the pounder 4 can be raised out of the tub into the position shown in Fig. 3, or lowered into the tub, to any desired position according to the bulk of clothes or other articles placed in the tub, and the rod 6 locked to the'connecting rod 15 by means of the set screw 16.

The clothes to be washed are placed in the tub after being prepared previously in any usual way, and sufficient water is placed in the tub after which the handle is turned, which causes the pounder to move up and down in the tub. When the pounder moves down, it carries with it more or less air owing to its inverted trough shape, and discharges such air beneath the surface of the water and against the articles to be waslidd, and the air is forced through the pores of the articles together with the water. Furthermore in pressing down the pounder,

thewater can pass freely through the an- .nular space between the pounder and tub,

and through he whole of the perforations in. the pounder, so that but little resistance is created to the downward movement of the pounder. But when the pounder moves up, the valves clack back in their seats, thus closing some of the perforations, which creates a certain resistance to the free passage of the water through the pounder, and lience a suction is created which sucks water p through the pores of the articles. This al- .ternate forcing of the water down through the clothes, and sucking it back again causes them to be thoroughly cleansed. vWhen the washing operation is finished, the shaft and l 1. An improved pounder for washing mounted on the center rod,

removed from the disposed in connection with a 7 clothes andother articles, consisting of an inverted trough-shaped member having a lift to open all the perforations for the upward passage of the water current. V 2. A 'pounder for washing clothes and the like, comprising an inverted trough shaped member, a plurality ofperforations almost all over its surface, a rod attached centrally to the member serving to enable it to be moved up and down, a center lift valve lift valves arranged at suitable radii around same,

valves mounted upon the upper and seated on the upper'surface of the trough shaped member soas to close some of the perforations, and pins for guiding the'valves and enabling them to freely lift with the upward passage of the water current.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name this 5th day of March 1914, in the presence of two subscribin witnesses.

LAWRENCE H ILTON.

Witnesses:

CHARLES LESLIE, T. S. SHELLINGTON. 

